the renaissance man

LibraryThing

I read a lot. As an English teacher, part of my reading addiction is work related. However, since I was young I have found that reading is something that allows me to block out everything else. The only other “escape” I have found is alcohol and playing the guitar. The former was toxic to me and my well-being. The latter is a growing passion.

Anyway, there are lots of sites popping up helping you organize your stuff. The first one I tried was Listal, but I found that it was geared to organizing all kinds of media. It didn’t speak to the bibliophile in me. Then I found LibraryThing.

It’s a dead simply site with all the required Web2.0 goodies: ajax, tagging, comments, reviews, ratings, sharing, etc. I have only begun putting my books in and seem to have been limiting myself to new purchases and the few books sitting within arm’s reach at any given moment. There are hundreds on the shelves behind me and in the bedroom which need to be put into my catalog.

The site is free for a certain number of books and the pricing for larger accounts is reasonable. It seems that this is a one-man show and is not necessarily “built to flip” so perhaps it’s worthy of a purchase.